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57K views 97 replies 12 participants last post by  theskythelimit 
#1 ·
This is intended to be a general thread for "only in . . . ." sorts of stories.

To begin:

What Does Your Toast Say About You As A San Franciscan?

Recently in San Francisco, a debate popped up surrounding the cost of toast, which is just slightly burnt bread smeared with a paste made from nuts or fruit or milk. Specifically, people are arguing about whether or not someone should be allowed to charge three dollars and seventy-five cents for something so wholesome and unpretentious as bread with peanut butter. More so, people argued whether or not "$4 toast" could stand for something bigger than itself. For example, why the tech industry is ruining San Francisco or the need for affordable housing. Which is ridiculous.

. . . the toast first drew criticism from the belligerent tech blogging crowd, where VentureBeat's Jolie O'Dell reached for the headline: "$4 toast: Why the tech industry is ruining San Francisco." Which is 600 words abhorring an ambiguous, but overpaid tech community for their taste in meaningless buzzwords like "artisanal." As of this writing the piece, which was posted in late August, has been liked 3,400 Facebook. So a lot of people are rallying behind the idea that no one should pay $6 for coffee and a piece of toast. (Although: good luck getting out of Starbucks for under five bucks.)

Enter Eddie Kurtz, political director for the Courage Campaign . . . told the Chronicle, $4 toast is what motivated his group to draft up an Internet petition telling Mayor Lee to "stop catering to the 1%" and build some affordable housing . . . .
http://sfist.com/2013/11/07/what_does_your_toast_say_about_you.php
 
#37 · (Edited)
San Francisco wants to increase it's minimum wage to $15/hr

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/joeg...or-15-an-hour-minimum-wage-in-new-5321206.php

Now that Seatac, a small town surrounding the airport by the same name, has a minimum wage of $15/hr, San Francisco doesn't like being 2nd in this regard it seems. If this affects restaurants the same way SF Healthy did, I will avoid eating out in SF for a while, the hidden surcharges are a SF staple at this point, but I find them irritating, and lack of disclosures annoying.
 
#38 ·
^^I don't eat in restaurants that impose a surcharge. But there are more than enough that don't to give me a full range of choices. On the other hand, there's no evidence that customer unhappiness with surcharges has had any impact on the restaurants that do have one. Restaurants in SF are booming as always.

And here's another thing: Unlike the surcharges for health care which are mostly intended to keep up the profit margins of the restaurant owners, if servers in restaurants were making $15/hr, which is $31,000 per year for full time work, I would no longer feel obliged to tip for less than exemplary service and might revise my usual policy of leaving 20%, making that the top of a range rather than the baseline.
 
#40 ·
I watched a documentary yesterday on Netflix: Fixation (2012)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1886542/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFqZKrcvRcA

Talks all about the fixed gear movement, and people that ride those types of bikes. (fixed gear bikes are the ones without a derailleur to change gear, you don't change gears, and these bikes usually don't have brakes, the pedals don't move backwards on their own, pedaling backwards slows you down). While it had a bunch of people in LA the bulk of people interviewed were in SF and SJ. Shots include people riding bikes in downtown SF, and other areas, especially with hills, non famous areas are hard to place, there is Lombard St, and Steiner in from of painted ladies. SJ has scenes all over downtown, people doing tricks, Adobe HQ, Center for Performing Arts, Paseo de San Antonio (right outside IMiNUSD), Circle of Palms Plaza, City Hall, MLK Library, parts of SJSU, Children's Discovery Museum, and Guadalupe River Trail at Riverpark Towers.

The biggest thing though is to hear and see the people they are interviewing. I will say if you don't like cyclists running red lights or stop signs are high speed, you probably will not like a lot of the SF scenes.
 
#41 ·
Looks like my neighborhood explorations around San Francisco brought me to question: which of these two areas can be more expensive to live in:


DSC05089 by anthonynachor, on Flickr


DSC05166 by anthonynachor, on Flickr​
 
#42 · (Edited)
which of these two areas can be more expensive to live in:
Well, Linea is a bit over $1100 per square foot.

I think quite a few of those older buildings further up the hill are rentals but the ones that are condos are less, I'm sure, just because they are older and many may need some "freshening". Linea has pretty high end finishes that I doubt many of those older buildings have. Some that have been recently renovated may, but others not.

Take 743 Corbett for example: http://www.trulia.com/property/3145847600-743-Corbett-Ave-San-Francisco-CA-94131

Spectacular view but "only" $700 per square foot. Looking at what else is available, $700 per square foot seems close to what many are asking.

I can tell you that living on the "flatlands" may not give you as spectacular a view, but it has its advantages. It means, especially as you get older, a much more walkable neighborhood. When you live up on the slopes of Twin Peaks you better plan of driving when you go out, which then brings up the question of where you are going to park. Linea, right on Market St, is an area where you could walk to a lot and it has excellent public transportation.
 
#43 ·
San Francisco Has Five of the Richest Neighborhoods in the US
Wednesday, March 19, 2014, by Tracy Elsen

Five San Francisco neighborhoods are among the richest 1,000 in the United States based on mean household income. The ranking comes from the Higley 1000, a list that uses Census Bureau information to pick out the wealthiest areas in the country. The San Francisco neighborhoods that made the list, their national rankings, and their mean household income are:

#227: Sea Cliff ($321,878)
#276: Balboa Terrace ($308,244)
#461: Presidio Heights ($281,206)
#644: Russian Hill -Southeast ($263,623)
#940: Inner Richmond ($243,719)
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2014/...ve_of_the_richest_neighborhoods_in_the_us.php
 
#94 ·
It is hardly a surprise
 
#44 ·
How tech became the enemy - then and now

www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-tech-became-the-enemy-then-and-now-5342897.php
The flyer tucked on the windshield of a tech worker's car on South Van Ness didn't mince words: "The Mission has been colonized by pigs with money. ... They help landlords drive up rents, pushing working and poor people out of their homes."

The leaflet urged people to key the cars of wealthy new transplants: "Take action now!"

The year was 1999.

Todd Lappin, one of those singled out by the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project's flyer, moved to San Francisco in the early '90s and still lives in Bernal Heights. He's 46, owns a home, has a daughter, runs a neighborhood blog and, yes, works in tech as a product manager at Flipboard.

No one protests him now, and the man behind the flyers has long ceased to rabble-rouse.

In today's rendition of the play, new actors have taken on the roles of protester and protested - but tech remains the villain.
...
The article talks about gentrification during the dot-com boom and the hate for people moving in. The lack of action by SF to increase housing (which always seemed to be like the official policy), and the hate of tech workers today. You have to like how the activist says it is not about tech workers, but yet doesn't make a mention about having one of them act as a "entitled techie" to spread stereotypes, or how it has become common to put graffiti or stickers advocating the death of tech workers, "Die Techie Scum". Article also doesn't mention anything about the similar sentiments on the other side of the bay in Oakland. But overall a fairly decent article (considering newspapers these days).

Sticker can be seen here: www.arirhodes.tumblr.com/post/70428955578/die-techie-scum-save-san-francisco-sticker-near

Modern culture in SF and Oakland is not tolerant of those that work in tech, but many people still move there while working in tech, more conflict will probably happen in the future.
 
#46 ·
^^ also the 5th best... with Walnut Creek. ;)
 
#48 ·
Of all the things to do with a car. A friend of mine recently bought a motorcycle because he felt kind of trapped in SF, though I'm not sure what is wrong with trying to use Zipcar. Take ZipCar to Walnut Creek so you can experience the joy of parking.

It sounds so weird to me being in the Bay Area, but not being able to really enjoy the natural beauty, spending a day in Napa, or a weekend in Yosemite. Taking the car up part of the way on Mt. Diablo and hiking up the rest. Hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains or Mission peak.

Your homework should you choose to accept will be to take BART to Walnut Creek, pick up a ZipCar there (the pick up spot is 2 blocks north or so). Then try to park it at Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek's answer to Santana Row! Seriously though, take the car up the mountain, the view is fraking amazing!
 
#51 ·
Doing a live blog right now on the fate of SF public transportation... read my notes at www.anthonynachor.com/blog.html ;)

There are soooo many people commenting in front of the Board of Supes, and the meeting has been running for 2 hours now. :nuts:
 
#52 ·
^^Full Board (which normally meets Mondays) or a committee?

Are the Supes paying attention? I love how when the public speaks in front of them the Board members commonly ignore them, go to the bathroom, talk to each other and generally make it clear they could care less what the plebes think.
 
#53 ·
This time, they were pretty cooperative, especially on a Friday morning. I even saw Tom Nolan laughing his way as he hears his fellow Supes commenting on the TEP. What matters the most, though: it has been approved. Details on my blog at www.anthonynachor.com/blog.html

Maybe it's a committee, but I saw them as Board of Supes for some reason... Perhaps when you head back here, we could meet up and discuss such matters.
 
#57 ·
^^Aha! What you were watching was the SF Municiple Transportation Agency Board of Directors. Nolan is on that but he not a city Supervisor (I think he use to be a Supervisor in San Mateo County but he must have moved back into the city).

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Municipal_Transportation_Agency
Ah yes... I'm also happy that the SFMTA Board of Directors weren't acting like the Board of Supes too where, as you said, they might not listen entirely to what their constituents say.

And by the way, the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) proposal has been approved... Read all the changes here.
 
#55 · (Edited)
This is kind of old, about 6-8 months, but apparently this kind of story is unique to the Bay Area, very unfortunate. I wish there was something that could be done to curtail the Bay Area's cycling culture.

Bicyclist sentenced for fatal S.F. crash
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Bicyclist-sentenced-for-fatal-S-F-crash-4736312.php
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slat...chris_bucchere_believed_to_be_first_ever.html

"Bucchere hit Sutchi Hui of San Bruno, a longtime travel agent in San Francisco's Chinatown, on March 29, 2012, as Hui was crossing Castro Street at Market Street with his wife. Hui fell, hit his head on the ground and died four days later."

"Gascón said Bucchere's "egregious" conduct before the crash warranted the felony conviction. Bucchere sped through several stop signs before arriving at Castro and Market, and he rode into the intersection after the light turned red, prosecutors said."

Unfortunately that is not unique to the Castro, cyclists all over the Bay Area behave this way, when riding my bike I have seen cyclists run stop signs, red lights, go the wrong way, and not wear a light. People have told me about cyclists yelling at pedestrians in downtown San Jose to get out of the way, on the sidewalk. That is cycling culture in the Bay Area, and I don't think this story will be a wake up call, not yet anyway, maybe after another fatality.
 
#56 ·
^^Perhaps it's a miracle but I couldn't agree more. Personally, I have been rear-ended by a cyclist when I stopped at a stop sign (her: "Hey, you stopped!" . . . me: "Well, yeah, its a stop sign.") And I have nearly creamed cyclists screaming the wrong way down the street into which my garage exits because I looked only in the legal direction of traffic.

As a senior, I could be seriously hurt by cyclists who can cruise down sidewalks at substantial speed; especially if I am using the curb cuts when they want to.

But I find it especially annoying that so many San Francisco arterial streets are being turned over to the few thousand people who actually use bikes as a principle means of transportation and largely taken away from the hundreds of thousands who use them to drive (many of whom, being too old or disabled to ride a bike, have no choice).

Given the utter absence of traffic enforcement in San Francisco, it means that a street like Valencia (or, now, Polk) has one lane for cars in each direction which can often be blocked by a double parking truck (or car). 1 - 1 = 0 No open lanes without swerving into the oncoming traffic lane.

Bikes in the city should be registered like cars if they are to be driven on the streets. And the riders should have insurance. And traffic enforcement--for both bikes and cars--needs to get a lot tougher.
 
#58 ·
S.F. ranked No. 2 most dense city in U.S.
Kale Williams

. . . Indexed by looking closely at four factors - development density, land use mix, street accessibility and activity centering - the city by the bay had a score of 194.28, just a smidge behind list-topper New York, which scored 203.36. And for those keeping tight score, San Francisco actually outscored New York in both the land-use mix and activity-centering categories measured in the study.

Other notable Bay Area cities on the list include San Jose, ranked 24th in the country, and Oakland right behind it at No. 25.

Beyond avoiding deadly car accidents, the benefits reaped by people who live in cities with higher density include lower rates of obesity and diabetes, as well as lower blood pressure on average, the report said.

It's also cheaper to get around in cities that are more compact. The study found that people who live in dense areas have more transportation options, many of them cheaper than driving or even free . . . .

Children born in dense cities are more likely to climb the economic ladder as well, the study found. For every 10 percent increase in a city's index score there is a nearly 5 percent increase in the likelihood that a child born into the bottom 20 percent of income distribution will ascend to the top 20 percent.

Gabriel Metcalf, executive director at SPUR, an urban policy nonprofit in San Francisco, said the city has done a good job planning for growth, but the job is far from complete.

"We've protected our walkable street grid and we've done a good job of removing some of the highways," he said. "We've been really good in some of the neighborhood planning efforts."

Among the planning successes, he said, are the reconfiguration of the intersection at Market and Octavia streets and the Transbay Transit Center.

But, unsurprisingly, housing still remains a tremendous hurdle that the city has yet to clear, Metcalf said.

"There are appropriate ways to create new housing," he said. "For downtown, that might mean high-rises. When you get to the outer neighborhoods, we need to be looking at secondary housing options like in-law units."

Coincidentally, the city's Board of Supervisors addressed that very subject Tuesday, passing legislation that, if eventually made final by the mayor, would authorize more in-law units. Meaning more (official) density . . . .
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-ranked-No-2-most-dense-city-in-U-S-5371625.php
 
#59 ·
"Protesters block, vomit on Yahoo bus in Oakland"

http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/04/02/protesters-block-vomit-on-yahoo-bus-in-oakland/

"Anti-tech shuttle protesters blocked and climbed on top of a Yahoo bus near MacArthur BART station Wednesday morning — and one photo claims protesters on the bus roof vomited on the windshield...."

I guess the protests are getting more creative, at least they didn't throw rocks through the windows this time.

The one on April 1st in the Mission was a lot less violent/crazy..

"Acrobats, activists block Google bus in Mission District"
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=9487772

"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's attempt to regulate those so-called "Google buses" is in the hands of the Board of Supervisors, who met Tuesday afternoon. Opponents say a proposed pilot project needs an environmental review and until then, they are promising to stop it...."

It is just a matter of time of course until they start throwing bricks/rocks in both location, since they really aren't stopping evictions, or gentrification, and it is ineffective.




"the beatings will continue until morale improves"
 
#60 ·
"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's attempt to regulate those so-called "Google buses" is in the hands of the Board of Supervisors, who met Tuesday afternoon.
To be clear, what is before the Supervisors, I believe, is an appeal of the Municipal Transportation Authority's approval of a proposal to make an agreement with the shuttles to have them pay $1 per day per Muni stop that they use. Neither the Supes nor the MTA have any real authority to regulate them if they stop on private property or some other legal public location. As things have been, it is illegal for them to use Muni stops which are only for public transportation's use. Cars that stop in Muni stops are ticketed.

Personally, I don't understand why they don't make an agreement with Safeway, for example, to make their stops in the parking lot or make other arrangements so they don't use Muni stops. ZipCar has long made arrangements with private lot owners to park their cars. Other non-public transportation providers do similar things.

I realize this wouldn't stop the protests most likely and, in that case, the law would all be on the side of the busses, their owners and their riders, and the cops will need to step in and protect them and their rights.
 
#61 ·
I debated posting this here, but I think it is just as much a reflection of the culture of Silicon Valley (as a region), as it is about technology and politics in general.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...illas-ceo-steps-down-amid-gay-marriage-furor/
"Mozilla’s CEO steps down amid gay marriage furor"

"Mozilla's embattled chief executive is resigning after a revolt among employees drew attention to political contributions he made in 2008 opposing same-sex marriage.
The maker of the popular Firefox Web browser announced Thursday on its blog that Brendan Eich would no longer be serving as its chief executive — just days after Eich had taken the helm of the organization.
"We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it’s because we haven’t stayed true to ourselves," wrote executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker.
Last week, Eich came under attack from Mozilla employees because of a $1,000 donation he made in support of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative to ban marriage for same-sex couples. Then on Tuesday, the online dating Web site OkCupid told Firefox users to boycott the browser because of the controversy.
..."

OKC is an NYC company though.
Technology and Silicon Valley specifically is well known for being very pro gay rights, regardless this is controversial here and elsewhere.
 
#62 ·
"S.F. buildings use Post-its to send messages, play hangman, call #SFPostIt the newest social media"

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/04/04/s-f-buildings-use-post-its-to-send-messages-play-hangman/

"At least four downtown San Francisco buildings made the most of their Friday by sending out Post-it messages to neighbors.

The participants, in buildings on Second Street between Mission and Market, played hangman, created characters such as Hello Kitty and Pac-Man, and wrote messages such as “We r hungover,” “hire us” and #sfpostit. It appears the workers even made plans via window stickies to meet up for drinks at a nearby bar...."

LOL, some people are copying a Parisian trend 2 1/2 years later.
http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/28/post-it-note-wars-rage-in-paris/
So far seems like SF can't really compare to Paris though.
 
#63 ·
Brothers of Invention
‘Silicon Valley,’ Mike Judge’s New Series, Debuts on HBO
By FARHAD MANJOOAPRIL 2, 2014

There is no epiphanic moment of invention in “Silicon Valley,” Mike Judge’s new HBO comedy series about the socially awkward, emerging center of the world. Remember the lightbulb-flash scene in “The Social Network,” “A Beautiful Mind” or any other pop-cultural depiction of high-functioning nerdery, the moment when, in a fit of mania and caffeine, our hero scribbles out some groundbreaking bit of math on a slab of glass? In “Silicon Valley,” as in Silicon Valley, the process of discovering the next big thing is much more authentically dull.

Richard, our hero here — a quiet coder played by Thomas Middleditch, looking uncomfortable in his own skin — creates a search engine that allows musicians to find out if their songs sound too much like other people’s music. It’s an idea that everyone tells him has no future, because musicians don’t really care if they’re stealing.

But buried inside the search engine is a technology of true genius, a system that would instantly shrink any file on the Internet to half its size, allowing faster uploads and downloads of everything. Richard, though, can’t fathom the worth of his own ideas, and he’s shocked when the industry’s most ruthless billionaires start bidding for his work.

People who’ve spent time in the tech industry will recognize Richard’s type: the too-smart programmer who’s blind to the world, the guy who insists that tech innovations ought to triumph over business acumen. Asked what “Steve” would do in his situation, Richard is puzzled. “Jobs or Wozniak?” he asks. Unsurprisingly, he’s partial to the geekier, forgotten Apple co-founder.

If “Silicon Valley” is unusually adept at teasing out the social types and subtle stratifications that make up the tech-obsessed Bay Area, it’s because Mr. Judge and Alec Berg, his producing collaborator, set out to get the little stuff right . . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/a...ike-judges-new-series-debuts-on-hbo.html?_r=0

I though it was very funny . . . much better than I expected from SoCal.

Pilot: Complete
 
#64 ·
Homeless Lose a Longtime Last Resort: Living in a Car
Cities in Silicon Valley, Elsewhere Crack Down on Vehicle Dwellers Driven Out of Apartments by Rents
By ZUSHA ELINSON
April 8, 2014 9:24 p.m. ET

PALO ALTO, Calif.—

. . . The San Jose/Santa Clara County region's homeless population—about 7,600 on any given night, the fifth-highest among major metro areas—edged up in 2013, even as the number of homeless nationwide dropped, according to U.S. data. About 46% of the homeless here are living on the streets for the first time, while 48% previously rented or owned a home, according to a county survey.

At the same time, Silicon Valley incomes, rents and home prices have soared. In Palo Alto, home of Tesla Motors, Hewlett-Packard HPQ +0.83% and Stanford University, average rents increased 34% during the past five years to $2,881, more than 2½ times the national average, according to apartment market-research firmRealFacts LLC. Silicon Valley's median household income is on the rise at $90,000, 75% above the national figure, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

. . . An ordinance passed by Palo Alto last year would punish people cited for living in a vehicle with as much as a $1,000 fine or six months in jail . . . .

For the moment, the city has delayed enforcing the ban while the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers a challenge to a similar law in Los Angeles. A decision is expected in the next few months and could affect similar laws in cities including nearby San Jose and Santa Clara. At least 70 cities across the nation have laws targeting people who live in their vehicles.

Officials say these bans aim to prevent nuisances that can be created by those living in cars, and most are enforced only on a complaint basis.

In Palo Alto, police received dozens of complaints from residents near a community center where car dwellers were using the restrooms . . . .

There are 15 emergency shelter beds and about 150 homeless people in Palo Alto. A nonprofit center provides assistance and referrals. The city also has pledged $250,000 to address homeless issues . . . .

Temporary housing isn't easy to find either, with just 26% of the area's homeless in shelters any given night, the third-lowest percentage among major metro areas, according to a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development . . . .
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles...3974564?KEYWORDS=Silicon+Valley&mg=reno64-wsj
 
#95 ·
How is that can be legal??? How about trailers?
 
#69 ·
I sense that it is the Carquinez, from Rodeo.
 
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